Thank you to our Math Department!

By CAROL LI

STAFF WRITER

PHOTO BY VICKY WENG

Mr. Chang

What is the best part of being a math teacher?

“Learning math is different for every student, because the way students retain information and pace [themselves varies]. This challenge is why I love to teach math. Also, I was interested in teaching high school [students], because there is less class management and a bigger focus on learning and teaching the content.”

How do you make math more appealing to students who are uninterested?

“I try to teach with hands-on material that you can touch and see, so it makes sense to them and they can relate it to real world situations. I try to ask questions that [prompt] them to think beyond the box. For example, geometry surrounds us. I provide diagrams and objects we can touch and see so that the concepts makes sense to students.”

PHOTO BY CHRIS CHAN

Mrs. Lin

What is the most challenging part about teaching math?

“A challenging aspect of teaching math is helping students [who struggle] and motivating students that do no want to do their homework because math does not come naturally to [everyone].To help them, I usually try to get them to come to tutoring [sessions], because it benefits students by talking to them one-on-one compared to a group setting.”

What did you decide to teach math to high schoolers?

“I really love math, and I [initially] wanted to be an elementary school teacher. However, being an elementary school teacher meant that I would not be able to keep learning and sharpening my math skills, so I decided to becomes a high school teacher [instead].”

PHOTO BY CHRIS CHAN

Ms. Weiss

What is the best part of being a math teacher?

“The best part of being a math teacher is seeing students grow. Sometimes, you have kids who do not have a lot of confidence in themselves in math, and then after some time, they develop a better sense of themselves. It is really rewarding to be able to help students, and get to know students better. They are not afraid to express their opinions and comments in class. One time, a student said, “If evening is called dusk, then can you say good dusk?” I thought that it was really funny, and moments like these is [another] reason why I enjoy being a math teacher.”

PHOTO BY PETER OH

Mr. Eusebi

What is the most challenging part about teaching math?

“The most challenging part of teaching math is trying to overcome the fear that students have and help them understand that it is not as hard as they think it is. To help students overcome their fear of math, I try to make [concepts] applicable to life in some way, which is why I like statistics, because a lot is about application to real life. Also, I use humor in math to take down the barriers and [create] a light [environment] in class. I try to give them multiple ways of solving math problems, and allow students to have the opportunity to [work through] a problem independently. I want [students] to see the relevance of math to their education and their future as well.”

PHOTO BY PETER OH

Ms. Bushyeager

Who inspired you to teach math?

“I had a high school teacher who really inspired me, because she was a successful woman in the [STEM] field. She really broke down the mathematical concepts and made it really easy to comprehend and remember [them] throughout the entire year. It was around the time that I really started to understand and get [math], and she made me realize that it was something that I wanted to inspire other students to keep pursuing and trying. Also, I wanted to show students that they did not have to give up on math.”

PHOTO BY CHRIS CHAN

Ms. Kim

What do you think is the most efficient way to learn math concepts?

“Just practice different math problems over and over, as well as studying by going over notes and doing homework. To help students learn different [concepts], I give them numerous resources and when I give extra homework, I make sure to upload the answers online so students can check to see their mistakes and learn from them.”

What was your most memorable college moment?

“My most memorable college moment was graduating. It really made me emotional, because it showed that the college process was finished and my [educational] career was accomplished.”

PHOTO BY PETER OH

Mr. Weaver

What was your most memorable college moment?

“One thing I did in college was teach as a graduate student. Usually, as a graduate student, you are given teaching or researching internships to help you earn money as you are enrolled as a graduate student. Thinking back, I really liked it, because math was always a strong subject for me, and over the years, I tutored mainly algebra. When I made a career change from running a printing company, I gave some thought on what I could do for the rest of my life. There was a lot of immediate attention to the fact that we needed math and science teachers, and I decided to take a shot at it.”

PHOTO BY VICKY WENG

Ms. Young

Most memorable time you had with students?

“The most memorable moment with students is not one event, but it is when students show appreciation for your hard work. Sometimes they come and tell me [about it], and it is so rewarding to see that I was able to help students in their education and life.”

What do you believe is the key to success?

“Time management, good listening and organization skills are the key to success. Time management is important, because as you grow older, they are many things that you have to do. Unlike being a [high school] student where you only have focus [on classes], in college, you have to [focus] on school and work at the same time. If you do not have good management, then everything can fail. But in college, you have schooling and work at the same time, so you don’t have good management, everything can fail. Listening and organization skills are [also] important, because you have to listen and organize notes well in college or any class to succeed.”

PHOTO BY VICKY WENG

Mr. Allen

What is your favorite part of teaching math?

“My favorite part of teaching math is seeing the students’ face when they finally understand something that they have been struggling with. There is a myth that kids think that they are not good at math, so they fall into it by [telling themselves] that they can not fix that. Their parents or [other people] may say that they are bad at math, but I am constantly encouraging them by telling them that they can do it and they are good at math.”

If you could travel to any part of the word, where would it be?

“I would travel to Australia. Over the summer, I went on vacation to numerous places, and every place I went, I met someone from Australia. All of them were friendly and inviting, and told me to visit their country. I am curious to see the atmosphere in Australia, and find out if everyone there is as nice as the people I have met.”

PHOTO BY VICKY WENG

Ms. Zheng

Most memorable moment with your students?

“Every day is an adventure [with my students]. [But], it is truly memorable that every single [student] in my Calculus BC classes passed the AP Calculus BC test. It was during the summer [when I found the results], so I made an announcement on Remind and told all my students that I felt very proud and excited for them.”

What inspired you to teach math?

“I was not a very good math student when I was younger. I failed math up to 4th grade. I am not very good at memorizing; I need to understand the “why” part in concepts or I can not do it. So, I had a teacher in 4th grade who is one of those teachers you are lucky enough to hit and actually explain to you until things made more sense. In a way, he always inspired me to someone like that to another student like myself. That was the first time I ever passed math.”

PHOTO BY CHRIS CHAN

Mr. Suh

Most memorable moment with you students?

“For me, it was when students who were just not as focused in the classroom setting. Then [suddenly], something just clicked into their mind, and they [become] motivated to work harder. When they were understood the concepts I was teaching them, it made me realize that I am making a difference in their world.”

Efficient way to learn math concepts?

“I [use] thinking maps. Having flow maps, circle maps and [other] different maps can [help students] bring out their own conjecture in their own classroom setting. [This] helps them to use common core and mathematical practices to help each other out.”

PHOTO BY PETER OH

Ms. Nguyen

Why did you decide to be a math teacher?

“I became a math teacher, because I like logic and reasoning. When you learn so much already, it is just natural that you want to share and spread the love of learning what you know with others. That is what pushed me to become a teacher. The process of becoming a teacher was [a lot of] hard work, but I still enjoyed going through the program and learning how to teach. I love the rewarding moments when I teach students something that they have not been exposed to.”

Welcome to Vol. 50!

Paw Prints Weekly is the student-run newspaper of Glen A. Wilson High School and is one of the few high school newspapers that publishes weekly in Southern California. This year, we are expanding our horizons towards online publishing and taking new approaches in journalism.